# Occasions 3 vs Countdowns

The clearest difference is price: Countdowns at Free against Occasions 3's $2.99. Countdowns also leads on update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (9.4K vs 2.4K). Occasions 3's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, review sentiment, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Countdowns is free to download; Occasions 3 costs $2.99 up front. Countdowns sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Occasions 3 asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Occasions 3 against 4.7 for Countdowns. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.4K and 9.4K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Occasions 3's written reviews are positive against 78% of Countdowns's.

Occasions 3 ships an update every 3 months, Countdowns every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Occasions 3 | Countdowns |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.8 (2.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/occasions-3-reminders/id541109232/reviews)** | [4.7 (9.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdowns-widgets-and-timer/id917514700/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2.4K | **9.4K** |
| Positive reviews | 74.6% of reviews | **78.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 4 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 18 MB | 56 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hand Carved Code, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/318103551) | [Shayes Apps LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/412539504) |

## What reviewers say

### Occasions 3

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/occasions-3-reminders/id541109232)

Never forget important dates like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays again. This app helps you track special events, set multiple custom alerts, and even send well wishes directly from your device. It offers seamless integration with your contacts and calendar, with options for customization and convenient access via widgets and Apple Watch.

**Highlights:** Sync events with Contacts, Multiple custom alerts per event, Categorized holiday selection, Add events to device calendar, Send messages directly from app, Customizable themes and icons, Widgets and Apple Watch app, Automatic iCloud backup

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Useful calendar
- 👍 Outstanding app
- 👍 Excellent app
- 👍 Great app
- 👍 Reliable and fun to use

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Annoying app
- 🐛 Duplicate notifications
- 🐛 Sync issues
- 🐛 Duplicate notifications
- 🐛 Duplicate notifications

**Reported bugs**

- Duplicate notifications
- Sync issues
- Data loss
- Compatibility issues with older devices
- Facebook SDK error

**Requested features**

- Add military birthdays
- Repeat functionality
- Sync with Apple Watch
- Separate categories for events
- Zodiac sign display


### Countdowns

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdowns-widgets-and-timer/id917514700)

Track upcoming events or past milestones with customizable countdowns and count-ups. Visualize your time with beautiful widgets and sync across all your Apple devices. Organize events with lists and receive custom notifications.

**Highlights:** Customizable countdown and count-up timers, Gorgeous, colorful widgets, Unlimited number of timers, Repeating timers, Calendar event import, iCloud sync, Custom notifications

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Countdowns Premium | $0.99 | per month |
| Countdowns Premium | $7.99 | per year |
| Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Unlock | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🚀 Accurate and reliable countdowns
- 💡 Customizable countdown settings
- 🔒 Syncs across devices via iCloud
- 👍 Clean and intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Widget not always updating automatically
- 💰 Paid subscription required for some features
- 🐛 Occasional bugs or glitches
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with user tracking

**Reported bugs**

- Countdowns not displaying correctly
- Sync issues between devices
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Allow reordering of countdowns
- Improve recurring event handling
- Add more customization options
- Provide full-screen countdown view
- Implement more notification options


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Occasions 3 free?

Occasions 3 costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Countdowns free?

Countdowns is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Occasions 3 or Countdowns?

Occasions 3 is rated higher. Occasions 3 averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while Countdowns averages 4.7 from 9.4K ratings.

### Do Occasions 3 or Countdowns have ads?

Countdowns shows ads; Occasions 3 does not.

### Which is updated more often, Occasions 3 or Countdowns?

Occasions 3 ships an update every 3 months, and Countdowns every 4 weeks. Most recently, Occasions 3 was updated on October 15, 2026 and Countdowns on October 17, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*